I love this painting project because it introduces basic colour theory and you can add a range of different challenges each lesson. By the end of the project students are able to identify and mix paints to correctly have secondary and tertiary colours, and use their knowledge to create unique and vibrant final painted outcomes. […]

My GCSE Art students have been working on a project titled The Blue Planet. Inspired by issues brought up in the BBC Blue Planet series, they have started collecting images, materials and photographs related to the project, and they have mind-mapped their initial ideas. This post shares some of their first drawings in response to […]

The aim of this project was for students to explore a range of mark making techniques, then choose the most suitable for their landscape ideas. The outcomes were painted (and printed) landscapes, focusing on movement, atmosphere and texture. The brief was: Many artists are inspired by landscapes. Some draw or paint from direct observation, others […]

I have previously posted a series of lessons explaining how students have studied various ways of making marks. This is part of a landscape scheme of work, where students will create a landscape based on their memories. This was a GCSE art and design scheme of work, and you can find the other lessons for […]

We taught an observational drawing scheme of work to develop Year 7 students’ drawing skills at the start of the year. Looking first at the hyperrealist artist Marcello Barenghi, students created artist research pages in their sketchbooks and watched YouTube videos of him working. These were great to play as students were entering the classroom […]

I have been teaching pattern design inspired by MC Escher to my Year 8 groups in school. By the end of the project, students were able to understand how to abstract sections of previous drawings and develop them into patterns. They looked at 4 simple pattern repeats: basic, half drop, 90 degree rotation and reflection. […]